Can new Bills WR Amari Cooper level up with Josh Allen midseason like he did with Dak Prescott years ago?

Cooper was the spark that powered Dallas to a 2018 NFC East title after his in-season arrival

Five-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Amari Cooper is a certified baller, no matter where he suits up in the NFL. 

Cooper is one of four players in NFL history with over 2,500 receiving yards for three different franchises (the Raiders, Cowboys and Browns) along with fellow five-time Pro Bowl receivers Irving Fryar and Harold Jackson as well as three-time Pro Bowl wideout Anquan Boldin. He is also one of eight players in NFL history with a 1,000-yard receiving season for three different franchises.

The Buffalo Bills hope Cooper can join wide receivers Brandin Cooks and Brandon Marshall as the third to have a 1,000-yard receiving season with four different teams after trading a 2025 third-round draft pick and a 2026 seventh-round pick to the 1-5 Cleveland Browns in a swap for Cooper and a 2025 sixth-round pick on Tuesday. 

This midseason trade isn't Cooper's first rodeo in terms of being dealt in-season. Cooper was averaging 46.7 receiving yards per game in the first six weeks of the 2018 season before the 1-5 Raiders traded him to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for a 2019 first-round pick. Cooper nearly doubled that average to 80.7 receiving yards per game in the nine games as Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott's new top target. His arrival coincided with Dallas running their record from 3-5 to 10-6 as they won seven of their final eight regular season games and an NFC East division championship with Cooper playing like a top 10 receiver. 

Amari Cooper 2018 season, NFL ranks

* Cooper made his Cowboys debut in Week 9 after the team had a bye in Week 8

How Cooper fits with the 2024 Bills

Cooper was mired in the worst season of his 10-year career on the 2024 Cleveland Browns with the struggling Deshaun Watson as his quarterback. His 41.7 receiving yards per game this season is a career low, but that's not entirely his fault. Watson has failed to throw for a meager 200 yards in each of his first six starts this season. 

Cooper has been doing his part when running his routes: his 2.7 average yards of separation are his highest since his first year with Prescott in 2018, according to the NFL's Next Gen Stats. Sure, he had six drops, tied for the second-most in the NFL, but Cooper's 473 air yards on incomplete targets this season also lead the entire league, per the NFL's Next Gen Stats, indicating he has shown Watson he's open, but his quarterback just hasn't been able to get him the football. 

In Buffalo, Cooper should seamlessly slide into the WR1 void left by Stefon Diggs offseason departure to the Houston Texans. His air yards made up the fifth-highest share of team air yards (46.9%) in the first six weeks of the 2024 season, and the Bills were the only team in the entire league without a receiver over 26%, per the NFL's Next Gen Stats. Mack Hollins' 21.4% air yards team share ranked as the highest by a Bills receiver entering Week 7. Cooper also has more career receiving touchdowns (62) than every other wide receiver on Buffalo's roster combined (61). His production should slot in similarly or more better than what Diggs produced across the last three seasons with Cooper having the edge in yards per reception. 

Amari Cooper vs. Stefon Diggs since 2022

* Joined Cleveland Browns via trade in 2022

Cooper became the first player in Browns history to post consecutive seasons with 1,000 or more receiving yards in 2022 and 2023 despite catching passes from Watson, Jacoby Brissett, an aging Joe Flacco, P.J. Walker, Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Jeff Driskel. He has also shown he can be an immediate impact contributor after joining a brand new offense midseason like he did with the Cowboys in 2018. Cooper and two-time Pro Bowler Josh Allen should be able to make sweet music on the football field right away.